Motorcycles, jet skis, snowmobiles and ATVs are popular recreational vehicles. While motorcycles can be rode from place to place, it is typically necessary for a user to transport a jet ski, snowmobile, ATVs, etc. from a home or storage location to the use site. Typically a trailer is employed to transport such vehicles. While effective and somewhat easy to load with the snowmobile, jet ski, etc. Trailers created disadvantages when they are towed behind a vehicle. Not only must a particular sized vehicle be employed which has sufficient power to pull the trailer and the weight of the carried load, the weight of the trailer and load reduce the gas mileage of the vehicle. Further, trailers are difficult to back up or maneuver in tight quarters and create problems on the road, particularly for an inexperienced driver during inclement weather conditions.
Such vehicles have also been loaded directly into the bed of a pickup truck. Special mounting brackets, etc., have been devised to fixedly retain such vehicles in position in a truck bed, particularly for motor cycles. However, such brackets, which are typically bolted or otherwise secured to the truck bed or surrounding structure frequently interfere with the use of the truck bed for its normal intended purpose when not carrying a motorcycle or other vehicle.
Carrying such vehicles on the truck bed of a truck poses a significant problem in so far as loading and unloading such vehicles onto the truck bed. Ramps are employed to provide an incline surface between the elevated truck bed and the ground. While unloading is relatively easy, since the motorcycle can be easily rolled down the ramp using gravity, the 700-1,000 lb. weight of a typical motorcycle could still cause problems due to the momentum generated rolling down the ramp. Further, jet skis and snowmobiles do not roll as easy.
Thus, it is frequently necessary for a user of such vehicles to require the assistance of one and usually two additional people to assist in pushing the motorcycle or other vehicle up the ramp as well as controlling the vehicle as it rolls down the ramp. The present invention addresses these problems.